E3 2014: A New World, a New Civilization

While history is still my favorite backdrop for a game of Civilization, there’s something undeniably attractive about the speculative nature of Beyond Earth. Like Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri before it, Beyond Earth takes the Civilization model past the modern day into a sci-fi tomorrow where humanity is trying to settle an alien world. The alien life forms, orbital platforms, and futuristic technology make Beyond Earth one of the most promising strategy games of the year and, it seems, a solid addition to many gamers’ favorite franchise.

Civ Beyond Earth is governed by three core Affinities, which reflect the values you bring to the game and are manifest in key bonuses and your civ’s overall aesthetic. If you align yourself with the Supremacy affinity, you’ll be focused primarily on dominating the planet through human modifications and your cities will look hard and angular. The Harmony affinity reflects your desire to achieve symbiosis with the planet and to adapt humanity to its new environment. The Purity affinity believes in keeping humanity pure, opting instead to terraform the planet itself.

Your attitude towards the planet is more than just a matter of taste. The planet in Beyond Earth actually serves as a separate faction that reflects your own playstyle back at you. If you’re aggressive against the wolf beetles, don’t be surprised when the massive siege worms start tearing up your roads and mines. If you steer clear of manticore mounds, you might find that the rest of the native species are a little more tolerant of you.

Moving back to the Affinities for a moment, the choices you make throughout the game will reinforce affinities. Certain research technologies will be aligned with one of the three affinities. Cybernetics, for instance, is heavily weighted toward Supremacy as a core value. Since the techs are no longer ordered in a rigid tree, you’ll be free to focus on the types of enhancements you want and see your affinity grow accordingly.

Your values are also reflected in decision-focused events that occur throughout the course of the game. While the overall context for your narrative is still driven by the development of your own civ as well as those of your neighbors, randomly generated quests and events provide additional story content.

You might, for example, be asked to approve one of two charters. The first is for a biomechanical operation that will grant you additional Supremacy-based improvements, while the second is for a vertically integrated research lab, which might help you improve the suitability of the planet itself. What makes this particular quest even more intriguing is that the new operation appears on the map and becomes a physical resource that you’ll have to manage and protect access to.

Progress through the game unlocks Virtue slots in one of four core categories: Might, Prosperity, Knowledge, and Industry. As you gain slots, you can buy new bonuses; Might gives you bonuses in combat against aliens, while Prosperity aids in the growth of your outposts. Specializing in a single Virtue unlocks additional benefits but, even better, there are kickers for generalizing as well. Now there are exclusive abilities and bonuses that are only available to you when you put points in all four Virtues.

The ultimate end goal depends on your playing style. You can win through Transcendence, where you essentially become one with the planet through the development of transgenics and nanorobotics. You could also win through Contact by researching and uncovering the previous civilization that inhabited your new world. Going after the Promised Land victory requires you to establish contact with Earth and invite them to come to your newly tamed world. Finally, the Emancipation goal is based on your need to build a ship and send colony members back to Earth.

It’s hard to tell much about a game like Civilization Beyond Earth in the limited hands-on time we had with it this month, so we’ll be sure to check back with the developers and the game at E3 in early June.

Steve Butts is IGN's Editor-in-Chief and Pathfinder GM. He would not be quite so tough on those Siege Worms if they would just stop tearing up the roads. You can follow him on Twitter. Or to a sandwich shop.